Coco: Must-watch movie for the entire family

Have you seen Coco yet? That is becoming a common conversation starter. Some have seen the movie more than once. The animated film is getting rave reviews for its homage to the Mexican Day of the Dead observance, respect for ancestors and importance of family. The movie’s success is credited largely to the creators listening to the Mexican community.

Latino community leaders initially lashed back at Disney during production of the movie when promoters attempted to trademark “Dia de los Muertos.” Thankfully, the application was eventually abandoned and Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal, Luis Valdez and Alfonso Arau were hired to lend their voices to the story’s characters. Actors Benjamin Bratt (Peruvian/Quechuan) and Anthony Gonzalez (Guatemalan) perform the lead voice roles. Mexican American cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, who originally protested the film with the spoof cartoon “Muerto Mouse,” was eventually hired along with Marcela Davison Avilés, of the Mexican Heritage Corp. and playwright Octavio Solis of El Paso, Tex. as cultural consultants.

Coco has been well received by most viewers earning a 96% approval rating on “Rotten Tomatoes” movie reviews. Pixar.com has listed a number of theaters in the U.S. where the Coco can be viewed with audio dub or subtitles in Spanish. The nearest of these theaters outside of Birmingham and Atlanta. Singer, Marco Antonio Solis replaces Bratt in the lead vocal role in the Spanish dub version.

TheaterEars app provides movie viewer the ability to watch this and other movies in various languages including Spanish. However, the app did not function at the AMC Theater on W Street in Pensacola while researching the use of the app for this article. The audio dub for the entire movie must be downloaded to your phone via the app prior to watching the movie. Then the app will synch to the movie at the show time and location you select which are also listed on the app. Unfortunately, there appears to be a common error that tells users that the app detects that the viewer has exited the theater and the app has been deleted to avoid piracy. TheaterEars correspondents claim GPS inaccuracies for the problem and say they are working on improvements.

But most Mexican and other Latino viewers in the Gulf Coast seem perfectly content with watching the movie in English regardless of their English proficiency.

“If I would have known, I would have brought a roll of paper towels to absorb the many tears I shed,” Said Geraldyn Martinez of Fort Walton Beach. “I was crying out loud, it was inevitable and embarrassing at the same time. But I was not the only one. Even after the movie, other women were still sobbing in the restroom. I was glad to know this movie touches so many feeling and teaches a great cultural lesson, too.”

As of writing, Coco can be viewed at the following movie theaters. Call or search online for show times.